In a recent study on the characteristics of youth in the adult system, “To Punish a Few: Too Many Youth Caught in the Net of Adult Prosecution,” there were some key findings with respect to youth held in pretrial in adult jails: (1) if detained pretrial, two-thirds of youth in adult systems were held in adult jails; (2) most youth who were not convicted spent more than one month in an adult jail; and (4) the majority of youth sentenced to probation or given a juvenile sanction were held pretrial in an adult jail. Federal law (Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) requires States to keep youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court out of adult jail, however, there is a loophole. The law does not apply to youth charged as adults. Recommendations are presented for Congress which is scheduled to reauthorize the JJDPA in 2007 and for State and local policymakers. Highlights of Congressional actions include: (1) update the JJDPA’s “jail removal” core protection for all children, regardless of which court they are in (juvenile or criminal); (2) initiate and provide Federal funding for new data collection efforts; and (3) launch and fund new research on youth in the adult criminal justice system. Highlight of actions taken by State and county policymakers should include: (1) update State statutes to prohibit the placement of youth in adult jail; (2) promote placement of youth in juvenile justice facilities as an alternative to adult jails; and (3) implement model approaches to removing youth from jails. Notes